Garbled MathJax in some old questions [duplicate]

In several old questions/answers I have seen in MathJax the combination \\, where it obviously should be \, and also \* where it should be just * - the result is a badly distorted formula, torn into confusingly displaced pieces in the first case, and just a red $\*$ in the second case.

I have just corrected it for https://mathoverflow.net/a/104701/41291, and I have done this at least twice before, so I now suspect there might be some bug doing this.

On the other hand this seemingly only occurs in relatively old posts, so maybe there was a bug which is extinguished by now.

Is this a known issue?

1 Answer

The system used to break \, which required entering a double \\ for $\rm\LaTeX$ commands to work. This was resolved a long long time ago.

• OK I see. So the remaining cases can be only repaired manually? Mar 19 '17 at 5:41
• As explained in the question linked by jeq, the devs promised to fix it automatically, but as this didn’t happen in the 3 1/2 years since migration, it is a safe bet it never will. So, manual repair seems to be the option to go with. Mar 20 '17 at 8:40
• @Emil: Sometimes a bit of prodding is needed. But I wouldn't say never.
– Asaf Karagila Mod
Mar 20 '17 at 8:48
• @AsafKaragila I (and others) did try that, you know. Mar 20 '17 at 10:12